It's great that there is still interest. I'm sorry if I dropped the ball as a project coordinator of sorts. I'm away making sure I'm not doomed to driving a rusting, smelly 1999 VW Polo with roofracks for the rest of my days.
Here's what I know about the gauges, I hope the key people don't might me giving my 2 cents. Generally, what I have found is that the people who have the required skill-set to build gauges are usually a wee bit older, have a lot of experience with electronics etc. and as a result they are in high demand, both professionally and home life, so their time is in short supply.
At first if there was an issue with a gauge I'd send a quick email or text to the gauge builder (usually either Mike S or Daithi) and they would diligently fix what needed fixing. As time went on the gauges needed fixing at regular intervals. Batteries died, phones out of credit and sensors that had broken. All of this took some time, effort and money. I didn't keep emailing the guys, I knew they were under pressure and would get to it when they had time.
All the time the guys were improving on the design, the circuit boards went through a few iterations and new gauge builders joined the project. However key reliability issues with the design kept cropping up, namely sensor failures. More people joined the project and there were more gauges placed on rivers around the country. Mike S and Daithi did a good job of giving out information and advice to the new builders. There were also some efforts to create a factory model to develop the gauges and a testing system that would insure quality. However, again these efforts didn't fully come to fruition due to the time required needed and other commitment.
There has also been a spate of vandalism of gauges, multiple times. I saw this as being a huge blow to the project. In one case the gauge was vandalised two times in a row.
Frustrated with the project there were a few efforts to pool cash so as to finance a wider effort either amongst clubs or dedicated groups, while the efforts met with a positive response, there was no one to give the cash to. Anyone with the skills was time poor, and in most cases money wasn't an issue. Everyone who has spent time on this project, even 5 minutes, has added positively to it. Most contributors have spent vast amounts of time and hundreds of euros.
Part of the problem is that these advances might be forgotten or disseminated, as people get pulled away from the project. Knowing the weaknesses of such an endeavor is key, we should proceed allowing for these weaknesses. People will come and go from the project. We need to build in continuity and memory. I've set up this Wiki as means for gauge developers and supporters to keep their efforts in step and spread the information:
http://wiki.iww.ie/index.php/River_Gauges
The information is probably old and out of date, I'll try to add more to the wiki over the coming months, but as I'm getting older, I'm also becoming time poor. Please make your own edits and additions. As for the gauge page on this site, access to its data etc. are another story. I'll outline my (realistic) plans for that in another post at another time.
